Mike Haridopolos: Some Senate staffers will be fired

Legislative leaders talk a lot about creating jobs in a state with 11.4 percent unemployment. But the next president of the Senate, Mike Haridopolos, is making it clear that he's out to eliminate jobs -- of Senate staffers.

"I've been doing a thorough analysis, talking to people, talking to members about staff," Haridopolos said. "Some of these staff members think they're the 41st or 42nd senator. If they want to make policy, run for office. Their job is to serve the people who are elected to office, and the staff members who think they are the senator will no longer be here." (Loosely translated, does this mean staffers are in trouble if they don't tell senators what they want to hear?)

Haridopolos declined to discuss individual staff members, but said: "You'll see names appear soon enough." Steve MacNamara, an FSU professor who served as chief of staff to House Speaker John Thrasher, is being paid $22,500 for three months to oversee Haridopolos' transition. Check out Steve MacNamara's contract here.

Haridopolos also has hired Craig Meyer, a longtime aide to Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson, to run a new Senate budget office, overseeing the appropriations process and seeking ways to economize and save money. Meyer, who was chief of staff to Senate President Bob Crawford two decades ago, was described by Haridopolos as having "vast experience" in state government and "a wealth of knowledge of the agencies."

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